Nine Times
by Cumberbatch Critter
Summary: "Nine Times Monroe Found Himself in Nick Burkhardt's Clutches" The title is self explanatory. Inner musings of Monroe during nine different moments, one for each episode. No slash, simply friendship. Rated T for language.


**Nine Times Monroe Found Himself in Nick Burkhardt's Clutches**

**Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice**

He'd been pinned back against his staircase- his own staircase, damn it- by the Grimm's unblemished hands, and now he was pinned, for the second time, against the wall. The Grimm, who was shorter, mind you, had his fingers clutching his shirt and he was getting prodded with a finger in his chest. Monroe stared down at Nick's fingers, breathing out heavily on the thought that he wanted to break those fingers.

Nick was talking, some incoherent nonsense about that little girl that had gone missing. He was accusing him, again, of knowing where she was. For the second time. Call him crazy, but today seemed a day for duos. If two Grimms showed up, however, he was calling it quits.

He exhaled heavily, doing his best to not give into the wolf raging in his ears, to rip into the Grimm, his one mortal enemy, as he stood nearly chest-to-chest with him. He just needed to _back off_. But, this was a Grimm. Grimms didn't just _back off_.

Why Monroe had invited the Grimm into his house, he had no idea. He had looked so simply frightened when he'd tackled him through the window, scrabbling for safety like a scared _Maushertz_. Monroe didn't expect that type of behaviour from a Grimm and it had caught him off guard.

However, he had been the one to invite him in for a beer, so it was probably his fault. He probably deserved this. Fool me twice, shame on me.

It really was a day for duos.

**The Policy of Normal**

Why did he have to show up again? He didn't say that he could show up again! Why did he open his door in the first place? Why did he open his door now?

The Grimm that he'd recently become acquainted with was rather clueless. Monroe had first realized this when he had so foolishly asked him how he stopped the Grimm process. You didn't stop it; it was natural. It was like asking how to stop the hands of a watch. Sure, you could jamb it, try to ignore it; that would do _so_ much good in the future.

He'd somehow gotten himself mixed up in a case with a family of Jägarbar? How was that even possible? How did someone like the clueless Grimm standing in his hallway even get caught up in that?

And he'd brought a bear-claw weapon? _Really?_

Monroe sighed to himself, resisting the urge to clench his hands into too tight fists. If he had to be friends, no no no, _acquaintances_, with this Grimm, why couldn't he at least have a sense of normalcy about him? Why couldn't he just come over to have coffee or to get a bagel? Why did he have to interrupt his morning Pilates? Why did he have to have a _Blutbad_ telling him what to do and how to do it?

As much as he tried, as hard as he strived, why couldn't his own life just be normal?

**Playing the Part of Guard Dog**

Why was he doing this? No, seriously, _why_ was he doing this? He had to be insane. Literally jumping when the Grimm said to jump.

He probably wouldn't have done this, if that damn Grimm didn't sound so flustered. And he had almost shot him! Almost _shot _him! With a Glock! With real bullets! What the _hell?_

Near death aside, it was proof that the Detective was... not dealing so well with his new lifestyle. Monroe could sympathize with him a bit... until he started throwing out dog jokes.

Not a dog!_ Blutbad!_ Big difference!

Despite that, well... there was something happening here. Nothing that included the Mellifers, either. It involved himself and the Detective, the Grimm. He didn't understand how he could be letting this happen. They were, well... ick. Was this becoming a typical thing? A new routine for him to follow? That was weird! It was beyond weird, it was unnatural! Abnormal! How could anything _good_ come of it? He may be able to help the Grimm with his police work, but... no!

No, no, no! Why did the Detective have to smile at him? No! He couldn't play fetch with a Grimm!

He couldn't. He wouldn't.

... Really.

He wouldn't...

**"I Almost Bought Him a Drink!"**

He did.

He did end up becoming a guard dog for Nick. That stupid Grimm...

And once again was running off to help him. Well, he was only doing it for the beer. He was only doing it for the beer.

That had been what he'd been saying, anyway. Now, he was freaking out because he'd almost bought that Ziegevolk a drink. A male Ziegevolk! What the _hell_?

Why did he agree to do this? It was way too dangerous. In too many bad ways.

But, it was important to Nick. He was intense on this, as he was on everything else. It must have been a Grimm thing. Or just a Nick thing, because that seemed likely as well. He didn't know any other Grimms to compare Nick to, and he frankly didn't want to know any more Grimms. He was content to just speculate on this one.

But, regardless, he did want to help Nick. He shouldn't want to, but he did, anyway. And, yeah, he knew it was a commitment in the making, and that part scared him just a little bit.

However, it might have been time to atone for his past. To open up a little. To get out of his weird position of 'awkward, friendless clockmaker'.

... Of course, his attempt to do just that just had to be started with a Grimm.

**Does He Have Rhythm?**

A _Reinigen_? Really? Nick wanted him to go be a drinking buddy of a _Reinigen_? That wasn't nice. That was a blow to his personal self esteem. The rats were the bottom, the _very _bottom of the food chain, and he wanted a _Blutbad_ to talk with one? Monroe understood that Nick didn't comprehend the importance of chain values, being a (near) human and all, but geesh...

He really didn't care about what other people were doing. He tended to just mind his own business and let Fate deal her cards. When you started messing with the cards that Fate had dealt, you got some weird match-ups, and then it was usually _you_ were the one who got bitten in the ass. So, Monroe liked to stay out of those types of things.

Typically, if he was told of this case, his response? _Sucks for the _Reinigen _kid. Hope things turn out all right._

But now, because he'd become so intertwined with Nick? With a Grimm? His response now? _He's not a rapper, is he? I don't like rappers. There's no rhythm or anything... just a load of nonsense._

So, he was going to try and talk some sense into this _Reinigen_. _Try_ being the key word because he was not good at these serious down-to-earth, father-son types of talks. Not that he'd really ever tried, because, frankly, he hadn't had a reason to.

Oh, but for _Nick_, he'd do it. If _Nick_ asked him, he'd do it all willingly.

Monroe snorted, laughing at himself. He was pathetic. He found himself in Nick's clutches one day, _one, stupid, inconsequential day_, and he was forever ensnared.

Congratulations, Monroe. You're living life with a leash around your neck.

**For a Sidekick, There is No Happy Ending**

When the knock resounded on his door, he knew it was Nick. He knew it was Nick before he even smelled him- he'd simply gotten used to the Grimm forcing his way into his house when the case got tough. And especially now, since it involved him and his pack.

Nick was desperate- and a little pissed, too. Monroe heard the slightest waver in his voice when he was accusing Angelina. But Monroe didn't care- Monroe was mad, too. And Nick was just lucky that he wasn't going out to hunt down that Bauerschwein, too. Because he wanted to. He _really_ wanted to.

There was no happy ending. Monroe should have known it from the start- the trusty sidekick always got screwed in the end. He wasn't going to play this game. He told Nick as much, _threatened_ Nick, almost. He knew he'd feel bad about that later, but when he was so close to a hunt, his adrenaline pumping wildly in his ears, he couldn't deal with it. He wasn't going to be the cause for Angelina's death, or Angelina's arrest, or the death of Nick or the police if they _tried _to arrest her.

Either way, there was no happy ending.

So, when Nick stared him down in disbelief for a moment before pushing his way to the door, Monroe sighed. He had known in the beginning that getting tangled up with a Grimm would be a bad thing, but he never imagined this. Not his past and his present coming to collide in most sinister ways.

No chance of a happy ending anymore.

**Tinker Toys**

Christmas time, Christmas time! Oh, what fun Christmas time was!

Granted, he didn't have anyone to spend it with... Ah! But look who happened to show up so much that he should have his own key by now. None other than Nick Burkhardt, the Grimm!

Business asides, it was Christmas! Nick's surprise was apparent on his face, but Monroe only bounded ahead in his plans, beyond ready to start the trains running around their tracks. It just wasn't _complete_ until the trains were running.

His thoughts crashed upon one another, a massive pileup, at Nick's words. A missing girl? A _Blutbad_ girl? Alone? Missing? At Christmas? And she didn't even know who she was? That was terrible!

He didn't want to be the one to mess with her, especially if she was feral. Of course, Nick wanted him to join him on the case, because that's what Nick always wanted him to do. Nick would rather risk _Blutbaden _flesh than Grimm flesh.

But Monroe didn't want Nick to get hurt, either. And the girl... It wasn't fair that she should be left to fend for herself for so long. Or even longer, because, according to Nick, it had been an awful long time already. That was just _unfair_. It was also slightly unfair that he was giving up time that he could be decorating to go help Nick once again, but, really, he didn't mind. It wasn't such a Christmas celebration that he'd ever heard of, but he got to spend the Christmas holiday _with _somebody. And if he could help his own, where was the harm?

Oh, why not? It was the season of giving!

**Beaten, Blood, Bruises, and a Whole Lot of Anger**

He was pissed. He was just utterly _pissed_. When Nick had called, he had been cheerfully docile, ready to spew out the long and revealing history of that watch. That watch... But, Nick had sounded _horrible_, Nick had said he was in the hospital, that he'd been attacked. And Monroe really couldn't believe his ears. Who would put that helpless Detective in the hospital?

But now actually seeing him, half-scrunched up in the hospital bed, completely shirtless and looking like he'd come out on the bottom of a prize-fighting match, it was a lot worse than just talking on the phone. Nick was beaten; he'd totally gotten his ass handed to him. On a golden platter. His shoulder looked terrible and _exceedingly_ painful, he'd obviously broken or at least cracked a few ribs, there was a nasty looking gash on his head...

Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Stupid Grimm! What had he gotten himself into this time?

His anger vanished when Nick flinched, and for a moment, Monroe wondered if he'd shifted _Blutbad_ and not noticed. But Nick was still asleep, and he shifted his weight uncomfortably, eyelids twitching, flinching at something that Monroe couldn't see. Dreaming. Dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before... well, not really.

Monroe could take it no longer, reaching out a hand to soothe the distressed Grimm. Nick jerked awake, panic flashing through his eyes before the pain of conciousness took him over.

How... _Why_...? What had Nick done? Nick didn't deserve this. Nick was the last person who deserved this. It had to be one of _his_ kind, a creature and not a human. And only because Nick was a Grimm. Nick wasn't like the rest of them. And yet, Nick got treated the same way.

Monroe was angry, but at the same time, he was making a vow, without thinking about it, that he would help the Grimm whenever he could.

**Hand in Hand**

So much pain... Monroe didn't remember ever being in so much _physical_ pain. His head throbbed, his face hurt, his ribs, his arms, his legs. _Everything_. He wanted to _cry_. Either that, or he wanted... well, he didn't know what he wanted.

The knock on his door, soft as it was, made him flinch. He hadn't even smelled Nick. And Nick, Nick was concerned. Rightly so. Monroe had avoided looking in the mirror, but he was sure he looked like fresh shit. He _felt_ like it, and that was enough for him.

He bit back a groan at Nick's questioning- typical cop, he reminded himself- wanting nothing more than the pain to subside. But, wait... he did want something more.

He'd decided, really decided, what to do about Nick. Seeing the Grimm in the hospital had been a wake up call from a friend, and now getting beat up himself had been the whole damn alarm going off. Get out, save yourself, or continue what you're doing, be killed. It wasn't a pleasant prospect, either one. Either way, someone was going to get hurt.

And he didn't want Nick to be hurt again. He'd decided. He'd always been mildly confused, knowing what he wanted but not striving to reach it. He'd always taken the easy way out. But, screw that. He had something to fight for. He would fight with and for a Grimm- a _Grimm_, that was right!- and he wasn't backing out now. He'd already endured the beating and now there was only the recovery. He'd be fine. He'd pull through. He'd be stronger than before. And Nick would be there, too, every step of the way.

* * *

><p><strong>Oneshot(ish) drabbles, from each episode, for a moment where Monroe is being dragged (or goes willingly) along with something for Nick. The moments used:<strong>

**Fool Me Once, Fool Me Twice- (Pilot) After Monroe invites Nick in and the Grimm pretty much slams him back against the wall, trying to get information on the missing girl.**

**The Policy of Normal- (There Will be Bears) Nick shows up at Monroe's house with the bear claw used during Roh-Hatz, once again seeking information.**

**Playing the Part of Guard Dog- (Beeware) Nick and Monroe's exploration of the "bee" warehouse.**

**"I Almost Bought Him a Drink!"- (Lonelyhearts) After Monroe leaves the bar after almost buying the Ziegevolk a drink.**

**Does He Have Rhythm?- (Danse Macabre) Nick and Monroe are having the conversation about the _Reinigen_ boy, as Nick asks Monroe to talk to him.**

**For a Sidekick, There is No Happy Ending- (The Three Bad Wolves) Monroe takes the neutral side, not helping Angelina nor Nick as Nick asks him where Angelina is.**

**Tinker Toys- (Let Your Hair Down) Nick explains the missing girl and his thoughts on how she is a _Blutbad_, while Monroe is decorating his house for Christmas.**

**Beaten, Blood, Bruises, and a Whole Lot of Anger- (Game Ogre) Monroe visits Nick in the hospital after receiving the distressing phone call.**

**Hand in Hand- (Of Mouse and Man) Monroe and Nick's conversation at the end of the episode, and Monroe's acceptance of the partnership.**

**As always, your thoughts would be lovely to hear! **


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